Friends, old & near: Securing Australia’s interests in a contested world
shadow foreign affairs minister simon birmingham outlines a foreign policy framework in which australia must collaborate actively and thoughtfully with traditional powers and partners, along with new or emerging powers and partners.
82 years ago today the battle of Guadalcanal raged.
The strategic significance of the Pacific wasn’t a theory, but a bloody reality.
In just three days 22 ships were sunk. 100 aircraft downed. 3,600 lives lost.
The sacrifice of conflict writ large.
Yet, far from futile.
Their defence of democracy, sovereignty and freedom delivered the relative peace and prosperity Australians have been fortunate to enjoy since.
If there is one ambition of subsequent governments that has not and should not change, it is to preserve that peace and prosperity.
Since 1942 Australian Governments have taken careful and considered steps to do so.
On 1 September 1951 the Menzies Government secured the umbrella of collective deterrence by signing the ANZUS Treaty and forging our most important alliance.
Just seven days later, the Menzies Government also signed the Japanese Peace Treaty.
Labor leader Arthur Calwell described this treaty as “unfortunate, ill-fated and indefensible,” while claiming Japan a threat to both our security and the White Australia Policy.
Menzies maintained his warnings against racial hatred towards Japan, promoted our shared strategic interests and, just six years later, signed a trade agreement between our nations.
Today, it is hard to think of any other economic and security partner with whom we share greater strategic alignment.
It was an indicator of the growth in regional ties that was to come.
Generational ties between Australia and Asian nations were established by the groundbreaking Colombo Scheme, also instigated by the Menzies Government.
Harold Holt then set new standards for regional engagement, visiting Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and The Philippines in 1966-67.
Malcolm Fraser’s first overseas visits as PM were to Beijing and Tokyo, while his government was to take thousands of refugees following the fall of Saigon.
Though a defence hawk who was always clear eyed about learning the lessons of Munich, Fraser also brought a pragmatism to regional relations, stating that:
“The ideology of regimes is not irrelevant but it cannot be the guiding principle of our policy.”
The Howard Government became the first to invoke ANZUS, played a pivotal role in the path of Timor Leste to independence, and was at the forefront of the regional response to the Boxing Day Tsunami.
The Abbott Government delivered free trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea.
The Turnbull Government joined Japan to save the Trans Pacific Partnership, and laid the first critical responses to the changed strategic environment created by China under Xi Xinping.
As Trade Minister in the Morrison Government I was proud to sign an FTA with Indonesia and secure the world’s largest FTA, RCEP, alongside our ASEAN partners.
Subsequently, as Finance Minister, I had a front row seat in the National Security Committee for the largest strategic upgrade to the US alliance since Menzies: AUKUS.
Yes, this chronology has been deliberately biased. My opposite number likes to laud Whitlam while deriding Liberals.
Such an approach is unnecessarily tribal and counterproductive to our national interest.
Whitlam deserves credit for establishing diplomatic relations with China.
The Hawke Government showed compassion in responding to the Tiananmen Square massacre, and leadership in securing peace for Cambodia.
Keating is right to be proud of his role in APEC.
The elevation of the G20 during the Rudd Government’s response to the GFC has been of ongoing value.
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Friends, Australia’s successful place in the world is derived from the toil of many leaders and officials throughout the decades.
We should talk up Australia’s global standing as a matter of pride, not undermine it for domestic political opportunism.
Nowhere is the creation of a partisan distinction in foreign policy currently more counterproductive than the Pacific.
The contest for Pacific influence and engagement is now entrenched, and was always going to be so.
China’s model of elite capture and less regulated funding is enticing to some.
In contrast, Australia’s ethical, values based approach is better policy but harder politics.
To advance our interests, we must be at one in promoting the bipartisanship of Australia’s investment in – and respect for – Pacific Island nations, their sovereignty and their people.
The Pacific step-up of the previous Coalition Government saw a vast expansion of our diplomatic footprint, positioning Australia as the only nation with diplomatic representation in all Pacific Islands Forum nations.
It was complemented with real support, from a more targeted development budget, direct climate financing, new ships, Covid assistance, and the new Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.
The idea peddled in the last election that anyone dropped the ball in the Pacific bears no scrutiny.
This government has built on those measures, in broadcasting, mobility and the welcome progress towards a Pacific Policing Initiative.
The singular message of Australian leaders towards Pacific leaders must be one of enduring and reliable partnership, above all politics.
I can think of no-one better to do so than my friend, the Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific – and distinguished former Deputy Prime Minister – Michael McCormack.
Michael, thank you for being here today, and for your engagement with our Pacific Vuvale.
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Ladies and gentlemen, the contest for influence in the Pacific is symbolic of the global contest for strategic influence.
The world we live in now is profoundly different from the established order that I, or most of us, grew up with.
My childhood saw the last of the Cold War, and the beginnings of Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening up of China.
My adolescence saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and the Tiananmen Square massacre.
My early professional years were jolted by September 11 and the rise of terrorism, but also the economic miracle of our region, where across Asia economic reform lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty.
Throughout it all, the great power of the United States stood tall in a rules based international system that had been built from the ashes of World War II.
Now, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said: “Geopolitical competition is underway to shape a new era in international affairs. The world we face is more competitive. It’s more complex and more combustible than at any other point in my career.”
In this new era, the US remains a great power, and the US will continue to be so.
China too is a great power, and will continue to be so.
Analysts and experts increasingly debate whether we are entering an era of multipolarity.
That’s not to say that third or fourth powers have reached the scale or influence of the US, or of China.
But their scope of influence matters and, in some cases, will increasingly matter.
Take two of our nearest G20 partners, India and Indonesia.
The populations, growth and ambitions of these two democratic friends of Australia, along with our geography, make a strong case for deeper engagement.
Scholars have begun to argue for the development of a formal trilateral relationship between India, Indonesia and Australia.
We share interests in a stable and prosperous Indo Pacific. We have pursued trade and security agreements bilaterally to strengthen cooperation.
Indeed, the former Coalition government sealed trade deals with each of India and Indonesia, as well as deeper security cooperation.
We should strive towards trilateral cooperation with these partners, to secure the open maritime domain we all rely upon, the security we desire, and the growth we seek.
The significant roles India, Indonesia and Australia each play within our region, coupled with our different alliances and partnerships, can aid our ability to navigate and shape the contested world we face.
Such a minilateral partnership can complement our work in the Quad, and other partnerships, especially our relations across ASEAN nations.
The Quad, restored and elevated to leader level dialogue under the previous Coalition Government, may become an even more important opportunity for dialogue as we enter a second Trump administration.
President Trump is proudly a disrupter, who is prone to pursuing less conventional policies and making bolder pronouncements.
But that is not a reason to catastrophise. The Turnbull and Morrison governments demonstrated how to work with a Trump administration.
There are opportunities in the second Trump administration.
Senior administration officials, including the incoming Secretary of State and National Security Adviser, have been open about the significance of our region.
Incoming Vice President J D Vance has spoken of a pivot, and stated that Asia is “going to be the future of American foreign policy for the next 40 years.”
That is a future that we must help to shape, and can do so even more effectively alongside regional partners like India and Japan.
It is a future in which AUKUS must play a strong role.
The case to make to President Trump in support of AUKUS submarines is clear:
No other US ally in this region is investing to expand their defence capability like Australia is.
No other US ally is investing directly in US defence industrial capabilities like Australia is.
And no other US ally is investing to build defence industrial capabilities that complement those of the US like Australia is.
We do so to deter conflict, and secure the stability that underpins economic well being.
Our budgets must match our plans, and our delivery must match our ambitions.
We must also move quickly to give Pillar II plans greater specificity – real plans and investments that demonstrate their worth.
Prime Minister Albanese should be making these points to President Trump in person, at the earliest opportunity.
In this changed and contested world, Australia must collaborate actively and thoughtfully with traditional powers and partners, along with new or emerging powers and partners.
We must always do so true to our values, principles and interests.
We must do so confident in our abilities and resilience.
Recently, Australia faced an unwarranted attempt at economic coercion, via Chinese Government trade sanctions.
As a country, in the face of unacceptable demands, Australia did not compromise on policies or interests, but demonstrated resolve. Our businesses sought diversification.
Now, with the overwhelming removal of those sanctions, Australia should celebrate the resilience shown by our economy, businesses and people.
Australia did not yield to pressure, and this strength should give us the resolve to stand by our values and national interest at all times.
Our approach to China should be both principled and predictable.
Whether it is on questions of global or regional security, free trade, human rights, or shared challenges like climate change, they should be in no doubt about what we believe and what we would encourage of them.
With China, we seek stable relations, with positive engagement in areas of collaboration.
The trade between our nations is mutually beneficial to each and, in strengthening both of our economies, it is good for our region and the world.
It was harmful to some in each of our countries for China to interrupt that trade … in breach of FTA undertakings we had made to one another.
We welcome the restoration of trade consistent with these agreements and, as Peter Dutton has said, the Coalition would wish to see that trade relationship grow further.
Given China’s standing as a great power in our region and the world, it is natural that we have expectations of how China should conduct itself in matters that impact our region and the broader world.
Of great powers, much should be expected.
Ideally, China would respect international rulings on maritime boundaries and its forces would not engage in acts of aggression or actions that risk miscalculation.
Ideally, China would use its influence and relations with countries like Russia, Iran and North Korea to stem the rise in conflict, not enable it.
Ideally, China’s systems would operate with integrity and transparency, whether in matters of cyber security, or market competitiveness.
Australia’s position on issues like these should be of no surprise.
As China continues its growth, including the rapid growth of its nuclear armed military capabilities, it becomes more important than ever that this great power act with great responsibility.
Over the last year, we have welcomed China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and premier Li Qiang to Australia.
The Coalition has been pleased to have meetings with both, and I again thank China’s representatives for this courtesy.
They have been both friendly and frank exchanges, addressing topics of shared ambition, along with matters of great concern.
We welcome China’s decision to have restored ministerial level dialogue and its engagement with our democratic system. It was counterproductive of them to have chosen to cease it.
Our ambition is to see that dialogue continue – and strengthen – consistent with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed by the Coalition Government in 2014.
The ambitions of the CSP should lay the basis for our cooperation in many fields that reach beyond the strength of our trading relationship.
Stemming the flow of drugs across our region, cooperatively tackling regional health threats, and working together to address the challenges of climate change are just some of the areas where we can do more together.
However, such ambitions for cooperation may be thwarted if the current trajectory of global conflict continues.
Demonstrably, the UN is failing to meet its charter “to maintain international peace and security.”
Russia has brought bloody state on state, land based territorial war back to Europe with its invasion of Ukraine.
Iranian sponsored terrorists continue launching attacks from bases including Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen, prompting massive human suffering in a war with Israel, and major threats to global trade through the Red Sea.
North Korea and Iran enthusiastically sell arms to support Russia, while Chinese components and funds also help to sustain Russia’s war effort.
China has crushed freedoms in Hong Kong, aggressively pursues territorial claims in the South China Sea, and sought to militarily intimidate Taiwan.
In a signal that can hardly be read as well intentioned, concurrent with the escalation of conflict these four countries have pursued joint military exercises. Russia and China have declared a ‘no limits’ friendship.
Elsewhere, civil wars continue to take a heavy toll on human life in places like Myanmar, the Maghreb region of North Africa, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Ethiopia, Syria, and the Congo.
With the UN paralysed, effective peacekeeping initiatives no longer enjoy international momentum.
To avoid a repeat of the world wars of last century, deterrence and diplomacy must be more effective today than appeasement was then.
I said earlier that the contest for Pacific influence is symbolic of the global contest for strategic influence.
The challenges of this were evident in the imagery, if not substance, of the recent BRICS Summit.
Most of the nations across the so-called Global South have little to gain from the conflict and terrorism besetting too much of the world.
Their instinctive opposition to aggression was demonstrated in the initial UN votes on the war in Ukraine.
Two years ago 143 nations voted to demand that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw” from Ukraine. Just five voted against.
There is a global desire to see sovereignty respected and conflict avoided.
Together with our allies and partners, we must become more effective at harnessing that global desire to stop warmongers like Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The Coalition supports every effort to stand against Iranian terrorism.
We believe Australia should join the US and Canada, and act alongside the UK, in listing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
Too many Israelis, Gazans, Lebanese, Yemenis and Iranians are among those paying the price of the Iranian regime.
Australia should also reassess what more our nation can contribute to maintaining safe international passage through the Red Sea.
The Abraham Accords pursued by the first Trump Administration demonstrate that progress can be made in the Middle East, and reinforce the need to prevent terrorists from derailing such progress.
The world should also extract a higher price from Russia for their aggression. While it is right to seek peace, it must be a just peace, that secures Ukraine’s future security and sovereignty.
The need to be able to seize and sell Russian assets for Ukraine’s war or reconstruction is one reason why the Coalition has initiated a Senate inquiry into the effectiveness of our sanctions frameworks.
The actions of such rogue states is also why we have initiated a Senate inquiry into arbitrary detention, giving oxygen to the arguments of Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Sean Turnell and Cheng Lei for reform, such as appointing a dedicated Special Envoy on Arbitrary Detention.
I acknowledge the work of my Shadow Assistant Minister, Senator Claire Chandler, in chairing these inquiries, which build on her important previous inquiries into Iran, and support for Ukraine.
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Friends, the world is always changing.
We should neither exaggerate or overreact to those changes, nor dismiss the risks they pose.
There is no doubt the world today presents vastly different opportunities and threats to when any of us were born.
Our responsibility is to make the best of the situation we face, and to shape the future as best we can.
Australia’s foreign policy rightly focuses first and foremost on our national interest, as does every other nation.
Our efforts lie with our friends, both old and near.
Those relations may be tested by personalities or competition, but our overlapping values and interests should ultimately prevail.
Just as those defenders of freedom did in Guadalcanal all those years ago.
This is an edited transcript of an address given by Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Birmingham, to the National Press Club this week.